Enzo Maresca rotated his Chelsea team for their game against Qarabag on Wednesday, but it did not work out.
While Chelsea were able to take the lead through Estevao Willian, one of the changes that Maresca had made, Qarabag fought back and soon found themselves 2-1 in front.
Thankfully for the Blues, Alejandro Garnacho managed to rescue a point for them after coming on in the second half to equalise.
Chelsea’s team was a very young one, and Maresca is now under the microscope for fielding such a side.
Todd Boehly at Chelsea game
Photo by Robin Jones/Getty Images
Chelsea owners support Enzo Maresca’s decision to rotate Chelsea team
While Maresca is coming under a bit of scrutiny presently for making so many changes against Qarabag, he still has the full backing of Todd Boehly and the rest of Chelsea’s ownership.
According to journalist Matt Law, Chelsea’s owners and sporting directors support Maresca’s decision and understand there will be bumps in the road when the Italian rotates.
One player Maresca tried to rotate was Moises Caicedo, but the midfielder ended up coming on in the first half after Romeo Lavia pulled up with another injury.
Playing so much football over the last year, Everton legend Leon Osman now fears for Caicedo.
However, with Dario Essugo currently sidelined, Maresca does not have too many alternatives, especially when he also has to rotate Enzo Fernandez.
Chelsea manager Enzo Maresca sitting on bench
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
Why Chelsea fans need to be more sympathetic towards Enzo Maresca
There is no denying that all the changes that Maresca made on Wednesday had a negative impact. But Chelsea fans should not be too annoyed with the Italian.
Their next Premier League game against Wolverhampton Wanderers is on a Saturday, not a Sunday. With that in mind, it is not a shock that he wanted to give the likes of Caicedo and Fernandez a rest, with the South American duo already playing a lot of football.
Also, even after rotating the team, there was still a lot of quality on the pitch. Captain Reece James, Estevao Willian and Joao Pedro all started, for example. There was enough in the tank to beat Qarabag.
Maresca is already missing players and will not want to lose any more to injury, so you can understand why he made those changes.